Pure Beauty

Average UK woman shaves her legs just twice a month

Published: 4-Aug-2015

New survey reveals body hair habits

A new survey has revealed that women in the UK shave their legs an average of twice a month.

The British Association of Beauty Therapists and Cosmetology (BABTAC) surveyed 2,061 women aged 18+ across the UK. The respondents shared details about their hair removal habits and their responses were analysed. The team discovered that the average woman shaves her armpits more frequently than any other area, with three times a week being average. Elsewhere, legs were shaved just twice a month on average and hair on the bikini line is typically removed once a month.

One in seven, or 14% of women surveyed, stated that they "never" remove hair from their bikini line, compared to 7% of respondents never shaving their legs. Just 1% of women said that they "never" shave their armpits.

When asked how they feel about being hairy, most women surveyed were not bothered by having hairy legs. Just over half (51%) said that they "don't care" about having hairy legs, whilst conversely 39% said that they "hate it". The remaining 10% said that they enjoyed having body hair.

Emma Roberts, Marketing Executive of BABTAC, said: "“There is certainly a new wave of women who care less about their natural body hair. A fair few of us can probably confess that we let things slide during the winter months, but this survey was conducted in the height of summer fashion, with miniskirts and floaty dresses all over the high street! Whilst it is still generally the acceptable custom to get rid of excess body hair, it really wouldn’t be a surprise if more and more women turn their backs on hair removal. Are hairy armpits a sign of the future? Perhaps!”

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